Course Overview

Sage Accounting is a practical short course designed to equip participants with the skills required to use Sage accounting software for bookkeeping, financial transaction processing, invoicing, cash and bank management, payroll, inventory, tax compliance and financial reporting.

The course emphasizes practical application and enables participants to manage accounting records efficiently, improve financial controls and generate reliable reports for business decision-making.

2. Target Participants

The course is suitable for:

• Accountants and bookkeepers
• Finance officers and managers
• Business owners and entrepreneurs
• Accounts Payable and Receivable officers
• Auditors and internal auditors
• Payroll officers
• Financial administrators
• NGO finance officers
• SACCO and microfinance finance staff
• SMEs and company administrators
• Students pursuing accounting and finance
• Accounting consultants and practitioners
• Professionals seeking computerized accounting skills

3. Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

1. Understand the fundamentals of Sage Accounting.
2. Set up and configure a company in Sage.
3. Create and manage a chart of accounts.
4. Record financial transactions accurately.
5. Manage customers, suppliers and invoices.
6. Process sales, purchases and expenses.
7. Manage cash and bank transactions.
8. Perform bank reconciliation.
9. Manage inventory and stock records.
10. Process payroll and employee-related transactions.
11. Manage VAT/tax-related transactions.
12. Prepare budgets and monitor financial performance.
13. Generate financial statements and management reports.
14. Apply appropriate financial controls within Sage.
15. Use Sage reports to support business and financial decisions.

4. Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Sage Accounting

• Introduction to Sage
• Role of computerized accounting
• Sage Accounting features
• Sage interface and navigation
• Accounting workflow
• User roles and permissions
• Sage applications in SMEs and organizations

Module 2: Company Setup and Configuration

• Creating a company
• Company information
• Financial year setup
• Accounting periods
• Currency settings
• Tax settings
• User access
• System preferences
• Data backup and security

Module 3: Chart of Accounts and Master Data

• Understanding the chart of accounts
• Creating ledger accounts
• Assets, liabilities and equity
• Revenue and expenditure accounts
• Customer master records
• Supplier master records
• Products and services
• Opening balances

Module 4: Sales and Accounts Receivable

• Customer management
• Sales quotations
• Sales orders
• Customer invoices
• Receipts
• Credit notes
• Customer statements
• Customer account reconciliation
• Accounts Receivable reporting

Module 5: Purchases and Accounts Payable

• Supplier management
• Purchase orders
• Supplier invoices
• Expense transactions
• Supplier payments
• Credit notes
• Supplier statements
• Accounts Payable reconciliation
• AP reporting

Module 6: Cash and Bank Management

• Cash transactions
• Bank accounts
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Petty cash
• Bank transaction processing
• Bank reconciliation
• Identifying and correcting discrepancies
• Cash-flow monitoring
• Bank reports

Module 7: Inventory Management

• Inventory setup
• Stock items
• Purchase and sale of inventory
• Stock adjustments
• Inventory valuation
• Stock control
• Reorder levels
• Inventory reports

Module 8: Payroll Management

• Employee setup
• Payroll processing
• Basic salary and allowances
• Deductions
• Statutory contributions
• Payslips
• Payroll reports
• Payroll reconciliation
• Employee-related accounting

Module 9: Tax and VAT Management

• Tax configuration
• VAT transactions
• Input and output VAT
• Tax invoices
• VAT reconciliation
• Tax reports
• Tax compliance
• Preparation of information for tax filing

Module 10: Budgeting and Financial Analysis

• Budget preparation
• Income and expenditure budgets
• Budget monitoring
• Budget versus actual analysis
• Variance analysis
• Cash-flow forecasting
• Financial performance analysis

Module 11: Financial Reporting and Controls

• Trial Balance
• Profit and Loss Statement
• Balance Sheet
• Cash-flow reports
• General Ledger
• Debtors and creditors reports
• Expense analysis
• Management reports
• Audit trails
• Internal financial controls

Module 12: Practical Sage Accounting Project

• Setting up a complete company
• Creating the chart of accounts
• Recording opening balances
• Processing sales and purchases
• Recording receipts and payments
• Bank reconciliation
• Inventory transactions
• Payroll processing
• Preparing financial statements
• Budget versus actual analysis
• Practical assessment and project presentation